Eye-bath.



J. E. ROSS.

EYE BATH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY z, 1913.

1,121,667, Patented Dec.22.1914.

- ,1 INI/EIVVTOR L/aSZZ/Z [2035 j By ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JUSTIN n. ROSS, or SPRINGFIELD, mssoom.

6 i EYE-BATH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUSTIN E. Rose, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Greene and State of Missouri, have invented a new and come readily deranged.

Another object of the invention is the provision 'of an eye bath device including means for discharging water under pressure and in the form of sprays against the & eye,-whereby thehydrotherapeutic action of the Water is made use of in the treatment of certain diseases of the eye.

Another object is the employment. of a drainage means whereby the water can flow back from the cup to the source of supply lso as to be used over again by the bulb or suction device which forces the water from the source of supply to the cup.

Another objectis the employment of an "air valve in the cup whereby air is free to enter the latter so that the water will drain out of the cup without creating a vacuum with its consequent injurious suction on the eye.

An additional object is to provide a pair of tubes which are attached to the cup, one

for supplying the treating liquid and the other for drainage, both tubes having weights on-their lower ends for submergence in the source of liquid, the'weight'on the supply tube beingprovided with a screen to exclude solid particles from entering the device from the water.

With these objects inview, and others as willappear as the description proceeds, the

invention comprlses various novel features i of construction and arrangement of parts -which will'be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto. In 'the "accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the invention,

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

Application filed July 2, 1913. Serial No. 776,943.

and wherein similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure l is a sideview of the device with portions of the supply and drainage tubes broken away; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View taken longitudinally of the cup; Fig. 3' is any other suitable material and so shaped at its brim 1 that the cup can be firmly applied to the eye torbe treated Without danger of water leaking out of the cup and running down the face. In'the bottom of the cup are openings 2 and 3 in which are fitted nipples 4 and 5 respectively for connection with the supply and drainage conduits 6 and v7.

The nipple 4 hasa hollow extension or stem 8 which carries onits upper extremity 'a spray head 9 which is in the 'formof an arcuate tube extending-longitudinally of the cup and having fine perforations 10 arranged'in a row or any other suitable manher so that water can be sprayed onthe eye. The apertures 10 discharge downwardly at an angle so that the water will strike the closed upper eyelid slightly above its margin, the water being caught by the cup A and discharged out of the nipple 5 and drain conduit 7. Arranged in the portion of the cup A which will be disposed at the top when the cup is applied to the eye is an air valve 11 so constructed as to admit air to drain freely from the latter without creating a vacuum. This valve 11 may be. of-any suitable construction but, as shown in :Fig. 5, consists of a ca'sing 12 fitted in an opening 13 in the topside of the cup and in the chamber of this casing is a disk .l4 or equivalent means which is adapted to uncover the port 15'and admitair to the cup.

The supply conduit 6 consistsof two sections a and b of rubber or other'tubing of any suitable constructiom',andrbetween the sections a' and 'b is awpumping deviceinthe form of a rubber bulb 'eahaving the-usual suction and outlet valve, for' instance, not shown. The lower end ofr'the section b is adapted tobe placed in a basin or other b of the conduit 6 bythe expansion of the receptacle 13 shown by dotted lines, Fig l, and water is sucked up through the section bulb c after the latter has been compressed. The water thus sucked into the bulb 1s, upon the next compression of the latter, forced upwardly through the section a and through the spray head 9, whereby the water is sprayed against the eye to be treated. To hold the lower end of the supply conduit 6, submerged in the source of water B, the lower extremity of the section b is provided with a combined weight and screen 16 which is formed with a hollow annular body 17 and a nipple 18 over. which latter the tubular member I) is applied, and in the annular body portion 17 is a piece of wire netting 19, as shown in Fig. 4, so that solid particles cannot be sucked into the device. A weight 20 similar to the device 16 with the exception of the screen 19 is applied to the lower end of the drainage conduit 7, which may also be a piece of flexible rubber or other' tubing. The conduits 6 and 7 are substantially of the same length so that while the cup is applied to the eye the lower ends of the conduits willbe in the same source of water- B, so-that the water after being sprayed on the eye can be drained back to the source and be used over agam.

This instrument is intended to be operated over closed eyelids only and never on the exposed globe of the eye. The valve is adapted to work in conjunction with the spray to prevent the jets of water from entering the fissure of the closed lids for the following reason: Should a vacuum form because of the water flowing out of the return tube, the eyelids would be sucked. in and their margins partially everted so that the water at the succeedin injection would enter beneath the lids an cause irritation of the lining membrane or conjunctiva. It

is not the direct effect, but the indirect effect 6f the valve that is necessary to the proper working of this instrument. j The direct effect is to prevent vacuumformation in the cup, the indirect effect by preventing vacuum formation is to prevent the aversion of the eyelids, which would allow water to enter beneath them and .cause irritation. The inflow of water under normal operating conditions is such that it is greater than the outflow until the eye cup becomes full, when the inflow and outflow become equal for a moment, and then the inflow ceasing, the

outflow alone is operative. The perforations in the transverse member are placed slightly below the median line of the transverse tube and directed downward, so that the jets of water. therefrom will have a downward direction, striking the closed upper eyelid at anangle slightlyabove its margin, thereby producing a frictional massaging effect essential to the purpose-o this instrument. ,These perforations are purposely arranged in a horizontal row, and so located in the tube below its median longitudinal to cause t e jets to impinge-on a sharply limited area of the lid (a fre uent seat of inflammatory diseases of the llds) and not broadcast over the eye. The particular area of the lid, for the treatment of which this construction was largely kept in view, is

that portion of the upper lid inch wide.

plane, and directed downward, as i along its free margin and extending from f internal to external canthus. This area is the site of marginal or ciliary blepharitis, an inflammatory disease of the lids. An-

.other advantage obtained by'di-recti'ngthe jets of water downward-at an angle and causing them to glance ofi the lid, is to cause a whirling motion in the accumulated water in the cup, thereby retarding its outflow and so causing the cup tobecome full of water. It is essential that the cup become.

full, or nearly full of water in'order that a suflicient volume may come in contact with the entire area of the lids to produce the desired cooling efl'ect when treating extensive inflammatory diseases ofthe lids.. Because ofthis particularconstruction of the spraying device, this jetting, frictional and cooling. effect is obtained. The longitudinal curvature of the transverse perforated tube (approximately thatof the eye) is essentialso that the perforations. near the end of the tube will be the same distance from the lids as the perforations at the middle,

so that the jets of water issuing therefrom will strike the lid atthe same downward angle as. the jets at the center of the tube,

not at different angles as they would I were the tube straight, because the perforations at the ends of a straight tube would be farther from the eye. By the use of a hand bulb in this construction intermittent 4 injections are obtained which have a more stimulatin effect than when the water flows continuou y, and. thus contributes to the salutary effect of .the instrument. By this particular arrangement of elements an operative' cycle is obtained that produces hydrotherapeutic efi'ects not obtainable with any similar instrument. The cycle begins with the spray impinging on the closed lid.

At this period the cup is empty and-the jects the water now being empty the inflow ceases and the water drains from the cup. ending the cycle. The cup being empty is now ready for a new injection;

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying draw-' ings, the advantages of the construction and of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: y a

1. An eye bath comprising a cup, a tubular spraying element disposed withinthe cup and extending from one side thereof to the other and approximately parallel with the front side of the cup, said element having spaced apertures so arranged as to direct sprays of liquid against the margin of the closed eyelid, means for supplyin liquid to the middle of the said element, and means for draining ofi' the liquid from the cup while treating the eye.

'2; An eye bath comprising an a proximately elliptical cup, a curved tub ar element approximately of the same curvature as the curvature of the closed eye lid extending longitudinally of the cup and having apertures for spraying liquid downwardly at an angle to the margin of the closed upper eyelid, means for supplying liquid to the said element, a drainage device for conducting liquid away from the' cup, and an air valve arranged in the to side of the cup. r 3. An eye bath comprising a cup, a honzontal tube curved parallel with the eye lid and having a plurality of jetapertures discharging downwardly and forwardly where by the ets strike the lower margin of the I upper closed 'eye lid and glancin ofl produce a rotary motion of theliqui' collected I in the cup.

In l ony whereof I have h p se ce f name'to this specification in two subscribing witnesses. i I g, l x p Jusr nnfnoss z; Witnesses i "J JOHN I.v YOUNG,

F, EVANS. 

